SAN ROQUE, Wednesday, August 20, 2025 – An intense day of polo was experienced this Wednesday in Sotogrande, with matches for the 3 levels of polo in Los Pinos and at Ayala Polo Club.
The High Handicap had resounding triumphs, while the Medium and Low Handicap also made headlines. The Gold Cup is the third stop of the 54th International Polo Tournament.
The competition is divided into three levels: High (20-22 goals), Medium (12-14 goals) and Low Handicap (6-8 goals).
Due to the High Handicap, MB Polo Team took revenge for the loss at the hands of Calatagan in the Silver Cup and beat him by 11 to 8 in a high-flying match in which emotions were not lacking. Thus, Mateen Bolkiah’s team, which had Pablo Mac Donough as a great figure, author of 8 goals, recovered from the loss in the debut against Dos Lunas and keeps alive its chances of reaching the semifinals.
At the end, Dos Lunas beat the Black Bears in a solid way and achieved their second win in this Gold Cup. Thus, the team that had Isidro Strada as a figure and Antonio Heguy as scorer, with 5 goals, remains undefeated in the tournament and will seek to secure a place in the semifinals on Saturday against Calatagan.
In the Medium Handicap, Brunei Polo Team, recent winner of the Plaat Terralpa Cup, turned the game around against Santa Quiteria/Mondragón and beat them by 9 to 8. While Muda IZ Polo beat Electric Polo by 10 to 9. In the Low Handicap, Hartog had a successful debut: they beat La Martina by 8 to 7.5 in the opening match of the day.
Admission to all the days of the 54th International Polo Tournament, both at Ayala Polo Club and at Ayala Los Pinos Headquarters, is free of charge. In addition, VIP Passes can be purchased for an exclusive experience throughout the event.
54TH INTERNATIONAL POLO TOURNAMENT:
BIONESTA PHARMACEUTICALS BRONZE CUP: July 28 – August 2 TERRALPA SILVER CUP: August 4 – 16
GOLD CUP: August 18 – 30
The detail of the day of the Sotogrande Gold Cup on Wednesday, August 20 was as follows:
ALTO HÁNDICAP
MB POLO TEAM 11-8 CALATAGAN
MB POLO TEAM: Mateen Bolkiah 0, Lucas Monteverde (n) 8, Rosendo Torreguitar 5, Pablo Mac Donough 9. Total: 22.
CALATAGAN: Marti Romualdez 0, Alejandro Muzzio 7, Pablo Pieres 9, Santiago Laborde 6. Total: 22.
Judges: Julian Appleby & Esteban Ferrari. Arbitrator: José Ignacio Araya.
DOS LUNAS 14-11 BLACK BEARS
DOS LUNAS: Dante Castagnola 3, Pascual Sáinz de Vicuña 5, Antonio Heguy 7, Isidro Strada 7. Total: 22.
BLACK BEARS: Guy Schwarzenbach 2, Rufino Merlos 4, Rufino Bensadon 7, Tomás Panelo 9. Total: 22.
Judges: Federico Martelli & Nicolás Scortichini. Arbitrator: Rafael Silva.
MEDIUM HANDICAP
BRUNEI POLO TEAM 9-8 SANTA QUITERIA / MONDRAGÓN
BRUNEI POLO TEAM: Bahar Jefri 1, Custodio Eleno 3, Joaquín Sánchez Herrero 4, Matías Mac Donough (h) 6. Total: 14.
SANTA QUITERIA MONDRAGÓN: Federico Rosales 0, Patricio Cieza 5, Gonzalo Entrecanales 2, Martín Aguerre (h) 7. Total: 14.
Judges: Martín Goti & José Ignacio Araya. Arbitrator: Federico Martelli.
BALLS FROM POLO 10-9 ELECTRIC POLO
MUDA IZ POLO: Firhan Shah 0, Ciro Urturi 2, Facundo Sola 8, Gregorio Gelosi 4. Total: 14.
ELECTRIC POLO: Pedro Chavanne 4, Sarah Braune 0, Tomás Delfino 4, Félix Esaín 6. Total: 14.
Judges: Guillermo Villanueva & Santos Anca. Arbitrator: Martín Goti.
The Sotogrande Gold Cup will continue on Thursday, August 21st, with the following order of play:
10:30 a.m., Low Handicap, Court 1 of Ayala Polo Club: 1896 Adrenalina vs. ESSSO
5:00 p.m., High Handicap, Court 2 of Los Pinos: La Dolfina Herederos del Marqués de Riscal vs. Les Lions / Sainte Mesme
6:30 p.m., High Handicap, Court 4 of Los Pinos: Amanara vs. Whizmo
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